"The Family Party believes in a compassionate welfare system in circumstances of genuine need. But welfare has turned into intergenerational dependency to the point where children are growing up believing their future livelihood will rely entirely on the state."

- Richard Lewis: Leader

Our thinking on Welfare: The Family Party believes in a fair and compassionate welfare system for families and individuals in circumstances of 'genuine' need. Welfare support should be measured against the individual’s ability and 'will' to work, in order to provide for themselves and their family, and lead by example for the next generation. To that end, the Family Party believes:

• Every New Zealander has the inherent potential to create wealth for themselves and their family
• Every able-bodied person should work
• A functioning intergenerational family is the best equipped to deal with welfare support for its members, if the need arises (hence the Family Party goal to empower families to build their own economy independent of the state) 
• Welfare should be viewed as a 'temporary state of transition' back into the workforce, not a permanent lifestyle
• While the state deems it appropriate to provide a welfare 'safety-net' for those in circumstances of genuine need, every care should be taken to ensure that such support does not turn into dependency

Rights v responsibilities: In circumstances where an individual or their family becomes a recipient of welfare support, appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that the individual and/or the family do not:

• Grow into a state of 'dependency' that jeopardises the future potential and earning capacity of individuals and their families
• Defraud the state by falsely or unjustly claiming welfare entitlements, i.e. in the case of an able-bodied worker who makes a choice not to work
• Neglect the special needs of their children and dependants
• Perpetuate the cycle of dependency through their children

Family – the 'ultimate' welfare unit: The traditional nuclear family holds the key to unlocking the economic potential of its members. Family-form matters. A healthy functional family is the natural preventative to welfare dependency and where needs arise, is ideally placed to provide support that does not disempower or undermine its family members.

In keeping with The Family Party philosophy of putting families first, the key to minimising welfare dependency and reducing the massive financial burden it places on New Zealand’s economy is in strengthening New Zealand families to prosper in their own right.

Marriage – the cornerstone of the family: More to the point, The Family Party believes enduring marriage-centred families are the stable basis for family living and provide a superior economic base for wealth creation by all its members.

Generally speaking, the marriage-centred family:

• Is the stable basis for raising children
• Has greater financial capacity and wherewithal
• Has greater wealth-creating potential 

Therefore, it is in the best interests of the state to promote marriage and family-friendly policies as the ultimate solution to the root issues of welfare dependency and child poverty. 

Welfare policy goals: The Family Party will:

• Promote policies that encourage stable marriage-centred families as the natural antidote to welfare dependency
• Review all current welfare benefits that potentially insentivise parental separation, such as the Domestic Purposes Benefit
• Endeavour to provide compassionate quality welfare care for individuals and their dependants that are unable to provide for themselves based on a justifiable cause:
  • In such cases, the state must provide the means for a fair quality of life with the purposed intent of becoming self-reliant again
  • Justifiable cause does not include a self imposed condition or a refusal to work where the individual is capable of work
• Advocate that every effort should be made to ensure benefits are responsibly spent for the benefit of the family and children
• Take every reasonable measure to protect the integrity and credibility of the welfare system from fraudulent and dishonest use by robust case management systems
• Ensure children of welfare recipients are not penalised but have available to them the same opportunities as other children  
• Review benefits that foster laziness, discourage work and favour beneficiaries over their working counterparts  
• Aggressively tackle long-term welfare dependency with intensive proactive case management and opportunities to work for the benefit
• Favour the delivery of welfare services at community level through suitable community-based organisations such as churches, charities and community groups
• Conduct thorough research into past and present Government policies that might have contributed towards dependency trends amongst families and children